Network: December 1992

After reading a Hands On item about corporate liability for drunken employees ("Employer Liability Widens in Drunken-Driving Cases," In the Office, August 1992, [Article link]), last month Jeff Donohue asked just how far it extends ("Just How Liable Are We?," [Article link]). Here's something companies can do about it.

* * *

Motor-vehicle accidents cost $89 billion in 1990. The Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (NETS) applauds judicial efforts that encourage employers to set the highest standards of traffic safety for their employees. CEOs should explore workplace traffic-safety programs such as NETS (202-452-6005), a public private partnership coordinated by the National Commission Against Drunk Driving and funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The program explains the cost to employers of traffic accidents, identifies potential workplace problems, and offers model policies and employee-awareness programs.

Terrance D. Schiavone

President

NETS

Washington, D.C.

* * *

Richard Bates is establishing a marketing department and asked for some recommended reading ("To Market, To Market," September 1992, [Article link]).

* * *

Positioning, by Al Ries and Jack Trout (Warner Books, 1986, $4.95), is the first book to read. It will determine your approach to the market. Then, if you choose direct marketing, I suggest Ernan Roman's classic, Integrated Direct Marketing (McGraw-Hill, 1988, $33.50). It teaches you how to integrate your mailing, follow-up, and phone and sales calls. And it saves you from sending lots of mail to the wrong people. If you use personal sales, read The Quadrant Solution, by Howard Stevens and Jeff Cox (AMACOM, 1990, $19.95), which tells you how to approach different customers according to their type.

Sue Marks

President

ProStaff Temp Services

Milwaukee

* * *

In September Christopher Peterson asked how to put together an offering memorandum himself, without paying lawyers' fees ("Do Your Own Deal," September 1992, [Article link]).

* * *

JIAN, in Los Altos, Calif., publishes two private-placement templates on disk called Partners LTD and P.P. Memo ($149 each, Macintosh and DOS versions; 800-346-5426). JIAN suggests that users have a lawyer review the agreement. That should cost less than having a lawyer write it for you, though.